Neil Robert Johnson

NEIL ROBERT JOHNSON December 6, 1946 - October 14, 2024 Neil Robert Johnson, of Minnetonka, passed into the presence of his Lord on October 14th, 2024, at the age of 77, after slowly fading from Lewy body dementia. He was born on December 6, 1946, to Ture and Margaret Johnson in Chicago, Illinois, joining two older brothers in the family, Douglas and Marvin. His father Ture and two of his brothers had emigrated from Sweden and began Johnson Brothers Builders and Contractors. When Neil was seven years old, his father passed away, and Margaret moved her three sons back to her hometown of Menominee, Michigan, where Neil became a life-long Green Bay Packer fan, living 60 miles from Green Bay. Neil attended North Shore Baptist Church where he learned to put his faith in Jesus his Savior. Neil grew to love the Church, as some of the men filled a role of mentor and took him porcupine hunting and fishing. He has always continued to love God's people and served faithfully throughout his life. He graduated from Menominee High School in 1965. These were the years of the Vietnam War, and knowing that his draft number was coming up, Neil enlisted in the army and chose to train as a sentry dog handler in the military police. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1968 for a year. After his military service, Neil moved to the Minneapolis area and started attending Edgewater Baptist Church. It was there he met two very important people. His loving wife of 52 years, Diane Stake. And in The Boys' Brigade group, a young Jon Anderson who years later would become his business partner of 36 years. Neil and Diane were married on March 25, 1972, and he began working in the printing business at Robert's Litho. In 1982, he and Jon began Johnson/Anderson, a printing company specializing in envelopes. They had a partnership that foremost centered on their faith in Jesus Christ, and through the ups and downs of business, that faith never faltered. Neil and Diane were blessed with two children, Kjersten, born in 1973, and Keith, born in 1975. Neil was a kind and patient husband and father, who was a godly example to us. In 2020, Neil was given the diagnosis of Lewy body dementia that slowly started to change his ability to manage life. In July of 2024, the difficult decision was made to move him to Trouvaille Memory Care Homes in Excelsior. We are so grateful for the wonderful caregivers at Trouvaille. Even as Neil's mind was fading, I would hear from them that Neil would mouth the words to a hymn that was playing or recite a scripture verse. Neil met Jesus, who he has loved all his life, face-to-face on October 14th. We will deeply miss him and mourn that he is not with us, but we know he is healed and whole. Survived by his wife Diane, daughter Kjersten (Roger) Peters, son Keith (John) Nickolaus-Johnson, brothers Rev. Douglas (Helen) Johnson, Dr. Marvin (Kathi) Johnson, sisters-in-law Karin (Dr. Dean) Kaihoi, Julie (Rev. Scott) Peterson, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. A celebration of Neil's life will be held on Thursday, October 24th, at Grace Church Chapel (Door 2) in Eden Prairie. Visitation at 10:00am, service at 11:00am with luncheon to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Trouvaille Memory Care or Grace Church. Interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery

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Neil Robert Johnson

December 6, 1946 - October 14, 2024

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